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Mary Robinson

Mary Robinson

17 commentaries
5 videos & podcasts

Mary Robinson, a former president of Ireland and former UN high commissioner for human rights, is Chair of The Elders and a member of the Global Steering Committee at Campaign for Nature.

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  1. Rich Countries Must Meet Their Biodiversity Financing Pledges
    robinson18_Alexis RosenfeldGetty Images_biodiversity Alexis Rosenfeld/Getty Images

    Rich Countries Must Meet Their Biodiversity Financing Pledges

    Jul 11, 2024 Mary Robinson urges international policymakers to use the upcoming COP16 summit to close the nature-finance gap.

  2. Climate Justice
    Tutu15_revisted Getty Images

    Climate Justice

    Sep 12, 2022 Desmond Tutu & Mary Robinson lament the rich world's lack progress toward recognizing what it owes climate-vulnerable countries.

  3. Supplying the Green Transition Must Be Fast and Fair
    robinson17_PABLO COZZAGLIOAFP via Getty Images_bolivialithium Pablo Cozzaglio/AFP via Getty Images

    Supplying the Green Transition Must Be Fast and Fair

    May 12, 2022 Mary Robinson emphasizes that efforts to secure key inputs for clean-energy investments must respect human rights.

  4. How to Make the Pandemic History
    kimoon28_Mahmoud HjajAnadolu Agency via Getty Images_covax Mahmoud Hjaj/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

    How to Make the Pandemic History

    Feb 17, 2022 Ban Ki-moon, et al. call for upcoming high-level international meetings to be used to close the ACT-A funding gap.

  5. Climate Accountability Now
    robinson15_Brook MitchellGetty Images_climate justice Brook MitchellGetty Images

    Climate Accountability Now

    Feb 11, 2022 Mary Robinson considers the steps that will be needed to redress the shortcomings of COP26 in Glasgow.

  1. gelfand4_Andrew HarnikGettyImages_trump_gesture Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

    It’s Time to Abandon Trump’s Flawed Negotiation Playbook

    Michele Gelfand points out that the best dealmakers strive for win-win outcomes, not zero-sum Pyrrhic victories.
  2. bajraktari3_NICOLAS TUCATAFP via Getty Images_fusionreactor Nicolas Tucat/AFP via Getty Images

    America’s Last Chance to Lead in Fusion Energy

    Ylli Bajraktari warns that China's domination of the sector would give it massive economic and geopolitical leverage.
  3. rogoff260_ STRAFP via Getty Images_chinarealestate STR/AFP via Getty Images

    China Can’t Spend Its Way Out of Trouble

    Kenneth Rogoff

    China’s prolonged reliance on fiscal stimulus has distorted economic incentives, fueling a housing glut, a collapse in prices, and spiraling public debt. With further stimulus off the table, the only sustainable path is for the central government to relinquish more economic power to local governments and the private sector.

    argues that the country’s problems can be traced back to its response to the 2008 financial crisis.
  4. mohieldin33_Xie EXinhuaGettyImages_guterres_debt_report Xie E/Xinhua/Getty Images

    This UN Debt Initiative Is Different

    Mahmoud Mohieldin, et al. tout an Expert Group’s efforts to prevent a full-blown solvency crisis in developing countries.
  5. fbirol4_UCGGettyImages_south_africa_power_grid UCG/Getty Images

    What African Electrification Requires

    Fatih Birol & Alain Ebobissé highlight the need for greater private-sector participation to boost investments in power grids.
  6. nye268_John MooreGetty Images_trumpUN John Moore/Getty Images

    How World Order Changes

    Joseph S. Nye, Jr.

    World order is a matter of degree: it varies over time, depending on technological, political, social, and ideological factors that can affect the global distribution of power and influence norms. It can be radically altered both by broader historical trends and by a single major power's blunders.

    examines the role of evolving power dynamics and norms in bringing about stable arrangements among states.
  7. buruma226_Picture AllianceGettyImages_tel _aviv_antiwar_protests Picture Alliance/Getty Images

    Israel’s Blind Spot

    Ian Buruma explains the lack of sympathy, even among the country’s many anti-war protesters, for Palestinian suffering.
  8. sirimanne1_Visual China Group via Getty ImagesVisual China Group via Getty Images_robotelderly Visual China Group via Getty Images

    Will AI Close or Widen the Development Gap?

    Shamika Sirimanne & Xiaolan Fu call for multilateral action and grassroots pressure to ensure that the technology serves all countries.
  9. dickinsongoodman1_DrAfter123Getty Images_datasurveillance DrAfter123/Getty Images

    Don’t Let Governments Break Encryption

    Jessica Dickinson Goodman & Ezequiel Passeron Kitroser urge citizens and lawmakers to fight for the privacy that previous generations took for granted.

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